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Feeling shell shocked at both the loss of our dog and a trip to A&E for Will on New Year's Eve, we said our goodbye's to Will's sister and her family on New Year's Day. We'll be forever grateful to them for looking after us through this difficult time.

With a few tears we made our way to the motorhome aire at Canterbury. It is incorporated into the city's Park and Ride complex, is one of only a handful of dedicated motorhome facilities in the UK and probably the largest, with capacity for over 70 vans. We'd been keen to make use of it for a while and having a few days to spare before our ferry from Dover, made now the ideal time.

We are not planning to get another dog while touring, so had decided to donate Poppy's effects to Dogs Trust Canterbury. It was only once we'd entered the aire via the barrier that Vicky found the kennels were closed the following day. She therefore packed up Poppy's things and we whipped out to drop them off. We made it back with just enough light not to have to use our headlights, which Will had switched for continental ones at Orpington- phew!

The aire is a quiet place, which is usually something we value, but on New Year's Day it was near silent and Poppy's absence was all the more obvious. Vicky had resorted to cleaning and tidying to keep her mind occupied and the van felt far too sterile without our very furry friend.

For £3.50 per day (charged midnight to midnight) the aire provides fresh water, bins, waste water and toilet emptying facilities as well as unlimited passage for up to 6 people into and out of Canterbury city centre on buses that run every 8 minutes.

The following morning dawned with venus and a waning crescent prominent in what promised to be a blue sky. Vicky did half an hour of pilates (for the first time in several months) and we rode into Canterbury. Will needed to take things easy as he was still recovering from his operation and the complications that followed, but we strolled slowly around the city's streets, soon finding our way off the main stretch to the cobbled lanes, where we found a range of interesting shops. On the King's Mile we discovered Unboxed; a small grocery store whose products, from rice to tomatoes, were all free of packaging. The sun was shining on the wall of the cathedral courtyard but with a fee to enter, we admired from afar.

After a while we came accross Lily's Bistro, an ethical café advertising seasonal, locally sourced food with zero waste and vegan options. We chose a table in the little bay window and watched the people go by. Our toast with toppings tasted great and we chose to buy two 'pay it forward' soups to be given to the homeless, some of whom we'd seen earlier huddled in a doorway. As we were moving on to tea and apple crumble cake a couple came in with a French Bulldog. It had been years since Poppy was well enough to explore cities on foot and we would usually only leave her for up to 2.5 hours. Now it is just the two of us we have a whole lot more freedom but we would swap it in a second to have our Poppy happy and healthy with us.

We really enjoyed visiting Canterbury's characterful lanes and would definitely make use of the aire again. Prior to leaving we used our credit card to pay the machine £10.50 for 2 nights and the barrrier opened automatically when it read our number plate. An easy to use and effective system. Next stop Dover!Read more

We spent a total of 8 weeks back in the UK, docking at Dover on 31st October and travelling as far as Alnwick on the North East coast. The trip began well with a diagnosis for Vicky's poor health; premenstrual syndrome with severe secondary dysmenorrhea, probably due to adenomyosis. She has been referred for a procedure, but when this isn't likely to be until March.

We had a roller coaster ride of quality time spent with family and friends, including 2 fireworks displays, 4 birthdays, a canal boat trip, 2 horse rides, walks, meals and drinks with loved ones. We got to watch Will's grandaughter's first ballet show and Christmas day was spent in the North East with our two brothers and sister in law. A HUGE thank you to everyone who made time to see us, took us in, fed us, gave us use of their drives, sewage drains, fresh water and washing machines and generally made us feel so welcome!

Even with the best laid plans, not everything worked out as we would have liked. We missed seeing some people we'd planned to see and found we'd be unable to fit the roof mountable solar panel we'd bought for the van until temperatures rose above 18°C. We managed to get our passports renewed but only after a palava with the photos, similarly we managed to get Will's new prescription glasses but only after navigating cancellations and store closures. We had aimed to get the van bumper fixed on the insurance from when someone drove into us in July, but it turns out 2 months isn't long enough for SAGA's garage to get the part delivered! Thank goodness we got the MOT done and dusted! The sudden closure of our Doctor's surgery left us in a pickle and the cancellation of Will's surgery on his piles and polyp once he was in hospital and prepped, put a spanner in the works. We managed to have it rescheduled close to Christmas, but stitches coming out, tearing and infection meant two trips to A&E, one on Boxing Day and one on New Year's Eve.

By the 30th of December we were ready for our ferry crossing to France and a little rest and relaxation. However, we were woken early by a very poorly Poppy dog. She had lost control of her back end, couldn't stand and was very distressed. Given that her health had been declining and she'd had two seizures within a month, earlier in our visit, we decided that enough was enough. We postponed the ferry and she recovered a little, but with her future quality of life in mind, we had the vet put her to sleep. They came out to the van where it was parked on Will's sister's drive on New Year's eve, so she encountered as little distress as possible in her last moments. We are glad to have been able to end her suffering, but are feeling very lost and sad without her. She's been part of who we are for more than 15 years and loved travelling as much as we do. Things just won't be the same without our stubborn, demanding, wilful, intelligent, beautiful and loving dog 😢Read more

So sad that you had to say goodbye to Poppy but perhaps better than having it happen when you were touring. Heart-rending decision but as we realised when we had to say goodbye to our Arthur cat when he was 16, we had to do the best for him.

It was a lot easier to be able to talk to the vet in our own language and have them come out to the van. We are convinced we did the best by her, but it was tough when it was just her body giving out and not her brain - she still had an interest in life most of the time, stubborn as she was 💔

I know exactly what you mean. Arthur had a facial carcinoma that was eating him away but he was still just as he'd always been although it seemed it was starting to get him down as he'd lost some of his vim & vigour. We had to take the decision as otherwise we'd have just been selfish trying to keep him with us for us not him. He chose to be with us when John moved in to the house in Stourbridge where we lived in the 80s. Then he came to the pub that we bought and kept in Lincolnshire and after that was with us in our mobile accommodation (a caravan at Halfpenny Green) and finally our house in Stourbridge again after I'd started at Hillcrest. Yes, when I started working at Hillcrest I was actually of no fixed abode! ;)